How I Became an Instructional Designer without a Master's Degree
Many professional Instructional Designers will say they simply "fell into" the world of instructional design. These individuals might have previously been Teachers, Human Resource Generalists, Trainers, Graphic Designers, Tutors, Technical Writers—I once met a Financial Analyst who pivoted her career to instructional design!
My journey to becoming an Instructional Designer was no different. I have background experience in graphic design roles and teaching, and, like others, I didn't know that Instructional Design was an existing job until I worked closely with the Instructional Design team at my previous workplace!
Becoming an Instructional Designer captivated me because I liked the ideas of:
Helping others learn new things
Leveraging my visual design skills for something that was meaningful to me
Applying skills from my part-time position (teaching) to a full-time career
As I discovered that this was the field I wanted to be in, the questions came up over and over again, "Should I apply to get a Master's degree? Will it help me land an Instructional Design job?"
For me, it was a matter of determining if I wanted to pursue higher education opportunities or corporate opportunities. I decided to explore corporate opportunities because it best matched my skills and past experience, and in that case, it isn’t required by the industry to obtain a Master’s degree.
Here are a few things I learned in my journey:
1. Connect with other Instructional Designers
I reached out to Instructional Designers from my previous workplace, and they were helpful in explaining their day-to-day work experience and sharing learning theories with me!
Another way I made connections was through LinkedIn and Facebook groups. You can search for "Instructional Designer groups” on these platforms. The groups consist of professionals ranging from new Instructional Designers to experienced, and it's a great way to ask questions as you're starting out. Some of the groups post job opportunities too!
2. Get hands-on experience
It was important for me to gain hands-on experience. I wanted to feel confident working as an Instructional Designer, and I hoped to have a portfolio of projects to share my design experience in a visual format. I completed 24/7 Teach’s Instructional Design Bootcamp, and it was a great mix of understanding learning theories as well as applying my knowledge to scenario-based projects.
Through the 24/7 program, I was able to:
Get practice in writing learning outcomes and scenarios
Create an outline for my own course that would be featured on the 24/7 Teach
Design and develop units of the course, incorporating scenario-based learning and assessments to evaluate learner retention and engagement
Plan, record, and edit instructional videos
Complete an internship through the 24/7 Teach Superstars Program to gain professional experience
Receive valuable feedback from peers who were also going through the 24/7 program
And get mentorship from Instructional Designers with over 20 years of experience in the education industry!
Along with the 24/7’s certificate and internship programs, I participated in other online programs and worked on volunteer Instructional Design projects to gain experience.
3. Incorporate Instructional Design responsibilities into your current role
As I continued with my teaching work, I was able to take initiative and practice my instructional design skills. I identified learning outcomes for the course I was teaching and mapped student assignments and activities back to the learning outcomes. The 24/7 Teach program also taught me to encourage students to think of themselves as a professional, so I was able to incorporate that aspect into the curriculum.
These practiced skills were great to add to my resume as instructional design work experience.
4. Showcase your work in a portfolio
Portfolios were not a new concept for me coming from a graphic design background. I updated my portfolio to include my new projects, explaining the goal of the instructional design project, the steps that I took, and the feedback I received from the learners or stakeholders.
Having a portfolio was a great way to show my experience level and I was able to reference it during my job interview process!
5. Reach out to your network
It was helpful for me to reach out to individuals in my network, no matter what their job title was. It allowed me to reconnect with past coworkers or classmates, as well as share my progress in becoming an Instructional Designer. In all instances, these individuals were very excited for me! Some were able to send me Instructional Design openings that they knew about from their own networks, and through one of these leads, I was able to land interviews and a job offer for an Instructional Design position that is perfect for me!
No two journeys are the same. This is my background based on my own experiences. I hope this helps you in your journey to becoming an instructional designer!
Charlene Chand
Is a 24/7 Graduate and Superstar, professional Instructional designer, UX/UI designer, and developer of the 24/7 User Experience and User Interface (UX/UI) course.
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